GabyAn international team led by researchers at the University of Bordeaux used artificial intelligence to analyze 80 red wines from seven local wineries. The wines were vintaged between 1990 and 2007.
AI determined the origin and vintage year of each wine with high accuracy — a level of precision many experienced sommeliers can’t match. That makes the technology a serious competitor to human tasters.
The next step for the university team is to compare the capabilities of AI and human sommeliers, the Daily Mail reported.
How the research was conducted
To analyze the chemical composition of the 80 red wines, scientists used gas chromatography — a method that identifies components in mixtures. To review the raw results and group the wines into clusters based on similarities in chemical composition, the team applied machine learning algorithms.
The authors of the study found that the AI tools grouped wines by place of origin with 100 percent accuracy, while they identified the vintage year with about 50 percent accuracy.
In the report, the researchers wrote: “It would be interesting to compare the effectiveness of our model with the work of experienced tasters conducting a blind tasting of the 80 analyzed wines.”
It remains unknown whether experienced sommeliers would be as accurate as the AI. But one thing is clear: AI systems will soon be able to assist human tasters in identifying wines correctly and detecting counterfeits.
What artificial intelligence still can’t do is enjoy drinking fine beverages. Only living beings can experience the pleasure of alcohol.
The Bordeaux region in the southwest of France is the birthplace of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties. Red wines from this region typically have aromas of red berries, black currant, and earth. Experts describe the taste as soft and fruity and recommend serving these wines slightly below room temperature, around 18 °C. They pair well with steak and fried potatoes, though true connoisseurs often prefer to taste Bordeaux wines on their own with small pieces of aged hard cheese.
The results of the study were published in the journal Communications Chemistry.
